Manufacture of footwear



Sept 7, I1937. H. E. GORMAN 2,092,350

MANUFACTURE OF FOOTWEAR Filed Aug. 3l, 1935 'ai a .NJE 3R d25,' 4 J0" BY 5/ jg I7/ Il] l @miti n? ATT NEYS. l

atente Sept. '7.193

accesso i i nc'rnnn or nl Henry n. Gorman, Lynchburg,k Va.. assignor-to y Compo Shoe Maccry Corporation, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware.

'Appiiconoo august si, i935, vsemi no. 38,685

d@ maints.

vThis invention relates tothe manufacture of shoes.

A general object of the invention is to provide a shoe having improved structural features.

' Another general object is to provide an improved method of constructing a shoe.

A more particular object of the invention is to yprovide a shoe which is easier to construct than a conventional Welted shoe, and yet substantially possesses its structural advantages and characteristics.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a a shoe having the above described advantages' wherein the toe portion of the outsole is securely anchored to the shoe upper.

A `further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of making a shoe having the above and other hereinafter described advantageous features.

Other objects of the invention will in-part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. j

The invention accordingly comprises the sev'- eral steps and the relation of one or more pf such steps with respect to each of the others, and the article possessing the features, properties, and the `relation lof elements, which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in `the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: A

constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention, most of the outer sole being broken away better to illustrate the interior con'- struction;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through a welt unit used in constructing the present shoe;

Fig. 3 is a' transverse vertical sectional view (im. ll2--lld2) of the welt unit of Fig. 2 showing a further stage in its preparation; K

Fig. 4 is a `fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view taken through the toe portion of an outsole having the Welt unit attached thereto;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken along line 5 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the toe 'portion of a shoe constructed in accordance-with another form of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary bottom view, with parts broken away, showing the forepart of a completed shoe of the form shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing an outsole and Welt assembly used in the form of Y shoe shown in Fig. 6;

Fig.v 9 is a fragmentary bottom View showing the toe portion of an insole used in constructing Athe shoe shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional View taken through the toe of a lasted upper in which the insole of Fig. 9 is utilized.

Referring more particularly to the drawing and first to the form of shoe shown in Figs. 1 to4 5 thereof, there is provided a welt strip i0 r (Fig. 2) of leather or the like to which a fastening strip Ii is attached by means of stitching l2. The fastening strip Il yis preferably made of strong textile tape, although any other suitable fabric or light leather may be used if desired. In assembling the fastening strip with the welt, the strip is rst doubled as shown in Fig. 2, and` the stitching l2 is passed throughI both folds of the double strip, beingjlocated closely adjacent the fold line and also adjacentthe inner edge of the welt l0. This forms a composite welt unit which may be made up in suitable lengths so as to have sections thereof cut off for use in an individual shoe. if

The fastening strip il is adapted subsequently to be cemented to a lasted upper, and to this.

end itl-may, if desired, be'impregnated with a suitable adhesive such as pyroxylin or other cel-v Fig. 1 is a fragmentary bottom view of a shoe as shown in Fig. 3 to permit the' application of such cement toboth folds thereof. It will be noted that this undoubling of the fastening strip 'in effect forms a small downwardly extending rib or lip i3 to which the welt ill is sewed. The

application of cement to the fastening strip at this stage of manufacture is optional, since the adhesive may also be applied later just prior to the attachment of the welt unit to the upper, or cement may be applied to the upper and an untreated fastening strip may be pressed thereagainst. When the strip is precoated or preimpregnated with pyroxylin cement, this is allowed to dry and is subsequently reactivated by means of a suitable solvent or other cement just prior to the ailixing operation which is hereinafter described.

The welt unit is next attached around the marginal edge of a rounded outsole I4 (Fig. 4) preferably by means of stitching I5, although any suitable cement may be used to join the welt I0 and the outsole I4 if desired. The welt unit is run entirely around the forward portion of the outsole, extending from the heel breast line on one side of the sole completely therearound to the heel breast line on the other side, the welt butts having the same location that they have in a conventional welt shoe. However, the welt may run entirely around the heel portion if desired.

, In cases where the welt I0 is of sufficient thickness to make it desirable, filler material I6 is next located on the outsole within the attached welt unit. This -ller material preferably is in the form of a dinked out blank of material such as Once or other like fibrous material, and this blank preferably occupies the forepart portion of the outsole extending rearwardly to the ball line.

A lasted upper is provided preferably comprising an upper I1 having its lasting allowance I8 lasted in flat overlying relation against an insole I9 to which it is affixed by means of pyroxylin cement or the like. McKay stitched or stapled -uppers also may be used if desired, and in fact,

any form of upper providing a suitable bottom surface for attachment of the fabric fastening strip is contemplated as coming within the purview of the present invention.

If the thickness of the materials used makes it expedient, further ller material 20 may be packedinthe central forepart portion of the lasted upper. It shouldbe understood that the thicknesses of the materials indicated in the present illustrative drawing are considerably exaggerated and that the spaces indicated as being occupied by flllers I6 and 2li in actual practice are not so large as they appear to be in the drawing, and that where the welt I0 and upper I1 are not unduly thick, very good results can be obtained without using any ller at I6 or 2li; or alternatively, one of these fillers may be used and the other dispensed with.

Assuming that a lasted upper has been provided and suitably packed with filler 20, the shoe is now 'ready for application' of the outsole Il. This is done by a simple cement afxing operation wherein the bottom of the upper and/or the fabric fastening strip Il is coated with adhesive or has its previous adhesive coating activated. The welt equipped outsole is then located with respect to the upper and this assembly is placed in a suitable sole aflixing press having a pressure pad or other like means adapted to urge and hold the outsole and its attached fastening strip Il against the bottom of the lasted upper and this pressure is maintained until the adhesive bond indicated at 2I (Fig. 5) is set. If

desired, at any time prior to pressing, the fastening strip can be slashed at the toe or like sharply curved portions better to enable it to lie flatly and snugly 'against the bottom of the lasted upper.

There is thus provided a shoe wherein the outsole is attached to a welt and the welt is sewed to a lip or rib I2 on the upper, but in which such lip or rib is easily and effectively applied by a series of relatively simple operations including the described cementing step.

It is also contemplated that the welt unit may be attached to the upper prior to the aflixing of the outsole I4 thereto by rst cementing or sewlng the fastening strip II to the bottom of the lasted upper and thereafter sewing or cementing the outsole to the welt. The first described operation is preferred, however, since it provides an easy and effective way of attaching the fastening strip to the bottom of the upper by means of conventional cement sole ailixing equipment and does not necessitate a special pressing operation for pre-attaching the welt unit to the upper before the outsole is applied.

When an especially firm anchorage at the toe of a. shoe is desired, the form of construction shown in Figs. 6 to 10 may be used to advantage. Here, the insole I9 (Figs. 9 and 10) is provided at its toe portion with a ply 22 of duck or the like which is cemented to the underside of the outsole at its marginal portions only so as to leave its central part unattached. A slit 23 is provided in the ply 22 in registry with this central unattached area.

An outsole I 4 has a welt unit comprising a welt III and a fastening strip II' stitched thereto by means of stitching I5', all as in the above described form. Prior to stitching the welt Ill to the outsole, an anchoring tongue 24 is located between these parts at the toe, and the stitching I5' is run therethrough as shown in Fig. 8, This anchoring tongue is preferably of fairly stiff fabric, and may be precoated or impregnated with pyroxlin cement which is adapted to be activated during assembly of the shoe. The free end of this anchoring tongue is passed through a slit 25 provided therefor in the fastening strip II', and, if wanted, a ller piece I6' is fitted to the outsole within the welt unit.

Cement is now applied to or activated between the lasted upper and the fastening strip l I', and the tongue 24 is inserted through the slit 23 and pulled or pushed rearwardly between the insole I9 and its toe ply 22 until it occupies the position indicated in Fig. 6. 'I'he cement on this anchoring tongue also is activated at this time and the outsole with its attached welt is located with respect to the lasted upper and pressed and held thereagainst in a suitable sole afllxing press.

It will be noted that in the form shown in Fig. 6, the lasting allowance I8 of the upper I1 is shown as being of less extent than the lasting allowance I8 of the first described form so that the fastening strip II is cemented partly to such overturned lasting allowance and partly to the insole. In general, it may be observed that this fastening strip is adapted to be attached to the bottom of the lasted upper ln any suitable relation, being applied either to the lasting allowance alone, as in Fig. 5, or to the lasting allowance and insole as in Fig. 6. or in any other suitable manner which permits attachment of the fastening strip 12D the upper.

By attaching the outsole in this manner there is provided a construction having marked advantages over previously used welted shoe con' structions as to ease and economy of assembly. The present shoe also possesses some advantages as compared with conventional cemented shoes in that it is practically impossible to peel the cemented bond between thev fastening strip`ll and the bottom of the upper. 'I'hat is, any kicking or scufng action which happens to bend down the outsole and welt can only act to separate the welt from the fastening strip ll back as far as the stitching l2, and any further downward bending force applied to the edge of the outsole will not have a peelingaction tending to separate the strip Ill from the upper. Instead, such force will be applied laterali across the entire cement bond at 2l.

llt will be seen that there has been provided a desirable shoe construction and a method of making the 4same which are well adapted to fulfil their intended functions. Y Since certain changes in carrying out the above method, and certain modifications in the article which embody the invention may be made without departing from its scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is Valso to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be -said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what -Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of attaching a welt to a shoe bottom which comprises forming a separate welt unit by attaching a fabric fastening striprdir rectly against a free welt, and thereafter attaching said unit to the shoe by cementing said fabric around at least the forepart of the underside of the shoe bottom.

2. A method of attaching a welt to a lasted upper, which comprises attaching the welt to a fastening strip, and thereafter `cementing such lstrip around `at least the forepart of the bottom of the lasted upper.

3. A method of attaching a welt to a shoe part, which comprises forming a separate welt unit by sewing a free welt directly against a fabric fastening strip, and thereafter incorporating such welt unit in the shoe by fastening means consisting of a cement bond between said strip and strip, sewing the welt to said 'doubled strip, laying back the doubled fold of said strip, and cementing said strip to the lasted upper.

7. Af method ofattaching a welt to a lasted upper,4 which comprises doubling a fastening E strip along a fold line. sewing a welt to both folds which comprises doubling a fasteningstrip along a fold line, sewing a weltto both folds of said strip to the lasted upper.

1l. A method of attaching an outsole to a lasted upper, which comprises sewing a welt to a fabric fastening strip, attaching the outsole to said welt, and thereafter cementing said strip to the lasted upper. I

12. A method of attaching an outsole to' a lasted upper, which comprises'doubling a fastening strip along a fold line, sewing a welt to both folds of said strip, undoubling said strip, sewingv the outsole to said welt, applying said strip to the bottom of the lasted upper with adhesive therebetween, and pressing said sole against the upper to adhere said parts.

13. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an ripper to an insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation therewith, attaching a welt to a fastening strip, attaching an outsole to said welt, and cementing said strip` to said overlasted allowance.

14. A method of attaching an outsole to a lasted upper, which comprises doubling a fastening strip along a fold line, positioning said strip along the upper side of a welt with its folded edge overlying the inner edge of said welt and with both of its folds extending toward the outer edge of said welt, sewing the inner margin of said welt to both folds of said strip adjacent said fold line, undoubling said strip, sewing said welt around marginal portions of an outsole, applying said strip to the bottom of a lasted upper with adhesive therebetween, and pressing said sole toward the upper to adhere said parts.

15.. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising doubling a fabric fastening strip, sewing a welt to the doubled edge of said strip, undoubling said strip and cementing its undoubled folds to a shoe upper under pressure.

16. A shoe comprising a lasted upper, a fabric v fastening strip cement attached to the bottom of said upper and having a doubled fold therein forming an attaching rib, a welt, a row of stitching joining said welt and rib only, and an outsole attached to said welt.

l'. A shoe comprising an insole, an upper lasted to said insole with its lasting' allowance in flat overlying relation thereagainst, a fabric. fastening strip cement attached around the marginal portion of the bottom of said lasted upper and having an upstanding fold therein, `a welt stitched to said upstanding fold, and an outsole stitched to said welt. f.

18.' In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole, attaching a welt to a fabric fastening strip and to an outsole, and thereafter cementing said fastening strip to the bottom of Vsaid lasted upper.

19. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole with its lasting allowance in at overlying relationtherewith, doublingy 'ai fabric strip to form an attaching rib, sewing a welt to said rib, and `thereafter cementing said strip to the bottom of said lasted upper.

20. In a'method of manufacturinga shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole, doubling a fabric strip to form a welt-receiving rib, and thereafter cementing said strip to the bottom of said lasted upper.

21. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole, doubling a fabric strip along a fold line, stitching a welt to the doubled folds of said strip, stitching lsaid welt around the marginal portion of an outsole, positioning a filler material on said outsole within the inner edges of said welt, laying back a fold of said strip over said filler material, rendering said strip adhesive, and attaching it to the bottom of said lasted upper by means of pressure applied to the bottom of said outsole.

22. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation thereagainst, inserting a filler in the central forepart portion of the bottom of said lasted upper in the recess dened by the inner edges of said lasting allowance, doubling a fabric strip along a fold line, stitching a welt to the doubled folds of said strip, stitching said welt around the marginal portion of an outsole, positioning a filler material on said outsole within the inner edges of said welt, laying back a fold of said strip over said filler material, rendering said strip adhesive, and attaching it to the bottom of said lasted upper by means of pressure applied to the bottom of said outsole.

23. A method of attaching an outsole to a lasted upper which comprises attaching a fabric fastening strip along the margin of the outsole, and cementing said strip to the bottom of the lasted upper.

24. An article for use in making a shoe of the class described, comprising an outsole, a welt stitched around atleast the marginal forepart portion of said outsole, a fabric fastening strip stitched to said welt, and a coating of cement on said strip adapted to fasten it to the bottom of a shoe.

25. An article for use in making a shoe of the class described, comprising an outsole, a Welt stitched around at least the marginal forepart portion of said outsole, a fabric fastening strip stitched to the inner edge of said welt and extendingv inwardly therefrom, a filler piece located within the inner edges of said welt and underlying and supporting said inwardly extending strip, and a coating of cement on said strip adapted to fasten it to the bottom of a shoe.

26. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation therewith, sewing a welt to a fabric strip, sewing an outsole to said welt, and cementing said strip to said overlasted allowance.

27. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation therewith, doubling a fabric fastening strip along a fold line, sewing a welt to both folds of said strip, undoubling said strip, sewing an out'- sole to said welt, and cementing said strip to said overlasted allowance.

28. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation therewith, attaching a fabric fastening strip around the margin of an outsole by means including stitching, and thereafter permanently cementing said strip to the bottom of said lasted upper.

29. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising attaching a Welt to a fastening strip, and thereafter attaching said strip around at least the forepart of a shoe upper with fastening means directly joining said strip and upper only.

30.. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising attaching a welt to a fastening strip, and thereafter attaching said strip around at least the forepart of the lasting allowance of a shoe upper with fastening means directly joining said strip and upper only.

31. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising sewing a welt to a fabric strip, and thereafter cementing said strip to the lasting allowance of a shoe upper.

32. A shoe comprising a lasted upper, a fastening strip cement attached to said upper, a welt stitched to said strip, and an outsole attached to said welt.

33. A shoe comprising a lasted upper, a fabric strip cement attached to said upper, a welt, a row of stitching joining said welt and strip only, and an outsole attached to said welt.

34. A shoe comprising an insole, an upper lasted to said insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation thereagainst, a fastening strip cement attached tosaid overlasted allowance, a welt attached to said strip, and an outsole attached to said welt.

35. A shoe comprising an insole, an upper lasted to said insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation thereagainst, a fabric strip cement attached to said overlasted allowance,`a welt stitched to said strip, and an outsole attached to said welt.

36. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole to form a lasted upper, attaching a welt to a fastening strip, sewing an outsole and an anchoring tongue to said welt, and attaching said strip and tongue to the bottom of said lasted upper.

, 37. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole to form a lasted upper, attaching a welt to a fastening strip, locating an anchoring tongue beneath said welt at the toe portion thereof, sewing an outsole to said welt and tongue, cementing said tongue to said insole and cementing said attaching strip to the bottom of said lasted upper.

38. In a method of manufacturing a shoe, the steps comprising lasting an upper to an insole with its lasting allowance in flat overlying relation therewith, attaching a welt to a fastening strip, attaching an outsole to said welt, positioning a filler material on said outsole within the inner edges of said welt, and cementing said strip to the bottom of said lasted upper.

39, A method of preparing an outer sole unit for adhesive fastening to a lasted upper consisting in providing a sole of suitable material of the exact form and dimension required by the last, then fastening by a line of welt stitching to the inner face of said outer sole around the margin of its .forepart a welt provided with an inwardly projecting bonding strip of material adapted for carrying an adhesive.

40. A method of preparing an outer sole unit for adhesive fastening to a lasted upper consisting in providing a sole of suitable material of the exact form and dimension required by the last, then fastening by a line of welt stitching to the inner face of said outer sole around the margin of its forepart a welt having an inwardly projecting bonding strip of material adapted for carrying an adhesive fastened along its outer edge to said welt.

HENRY B. GORMAN. 

